Monday, August 26, 2013

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Melissa Stockwell, a U.S. Army Purple Heart recipient, lost
her leg when a roadside bomb exploded during a convoy in 2004.Instead of giving up on life, after much
physical therapy, she trained for the 2008 Paralympic Games for the U.S.
team.Her determination became evident
when she became the record holder for the 100 meter butterfly and the 100 meter
freestyle.She said, “I can really do
anything I want to do, missing leg or not.”

Other athletes like Anthony Robles, born without a leg
became the NCAA wrestling champion for the 125 –pound class.Legally blind Twenty-four old, Im Dong-Hyun,
won two Olympic gold medals in archery.Carrie Johnson, battling an autoimmune disorder that at times causes
pain, fatigue, and weight loss is competing for the third time in the sprint
canoeing event for the Olympic Games.She refuses to let Crohn’s disease hold her back.

Just as some athletes face physical limitations; we too as
God’s child experience difficulties or sin that would hinder us from becoming
His star achievers.In the passage He
instructs us to: …lay aside every weight
and the sin which doth so easily beset us.(Heb. 12:1)We’re to put
aside the failures of the past, quit carrying around the past sin that He no
longer remembers.He said, As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our
transgressions from us. (Ps. 103:12).If He has forgotten our sin, why should we dig up old bones?

Any great athlete will push through the pain and look toward
the finish line.We need to: …run with patience, the race that is set
before us, (Heb. 12:1).Keep your
eye on the finish line, (our heavenly
home).Serve Him with all your
heart, and finish a winner.

Recommended reading: Hebrews 12:1-3

Quote:

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a
thing, you're right.

Henry Ford

By: Louis Edwards

Note: The excerpts
mentioned about the athelets in this devotion were found in www.beliefnet.com.